APATEQ Delivers First Deposit Water Treatment Unit

The Luxembourg startup announced "a large customer in Europe" ordered the pilot plant to treat water from oil production and hydraulic fracturing.

Jan 23, 2014

APATEQ, a recent Luxembourg startup in the water/wastewater industry, announced it will deliver its first oil-water separation product to "a large customer in Europe." Housed in a 40-foot container, the mobile unit will treat produced water from oil production and hydraulic fracturing—"requiring virtually no chemicals for operation using a proprietary technology," according to the company's Jan. 20 announcement.

APATEQ also has shipped some mobile units for compact wastewater treatment. "We are thrilled about this contract, as oil-water separation is planned to be the major growth segment of APTEQ in the future. We already filed two patents for our oil-water separation technology, which is characterized by high separation efficiency, low energy consumption, [and] compactness with virtually no chemical aids," said CEO Bogdan Serban. "As a young Luxembourgish company, being chosen by European market leaders to treat very difficult deposit water makes us particularly proud."

"Water that is obtained when extracting oil or gas, known as deposit water, is very difficult to treat as it contains various elements besides the dissolved hydrocarbons," Chief Technology Officer Ulrich Baeuerle said. "Many companies have tried to treat this type of water, some unsuccessfully, others at some success but at high expenses and with considerable maintenance efforts. Our solution turned out to be the most efficient. The effluent from our systems is suitable for direct discharge, irrigation, or reuse as process water."

The company was founded in spring 2013 with support from private investors.